Jackals ink 4, look ahead to new era

Comment

By CHRIS GILL

The Leader

By CHRIS GILL

Posted Jul. 29, 2013 at 9:02 PM

By CHRIS GILL
Posted Jul. 29, 2013 at 9:02 PM

Corning, N.Y.

cmgill@the-leader.com

ELMIRA — Monday’s press conference at First Arena was to announce the resigning of four core members from last year’s Elmira Jackals, but it turned out to be a celebration of hope for the future of the ECHL team and the city’s downtown arena. One year ago, the arena was in foreclosure, there was uncertainty about the future of the region’s only professional sport and the Jackals didn’t even have a coach following the sudden exit of Pat Bingham. Monday, new ownership, new and familiar personnel and the same coach who convinced a team to battle through all of it welcomed fans back to the First Arena with the promise of a new beginning. “It has been a rollercoaster ride. We started this plan over a year ago. There was a plan to take the arena back, kind of a community takeover if you will,” said Jackals co-owner Nathan Cook. “People sort of sat on the sidelines for a long time and said, ‘We really need to do something about this guy and the way he’s been running things.’ So we’ve taken over and I think you’ll find it’s an entirely different and fresh perspective. It really goes back to trying to turn the facility into what it was supposed to be.” The Afr family brought pro hockey to Elmira in 2000, and were content to siphon profits without reinvesting into the facility or the community. Eventually, Dr. Mostafa Afr and his son, Tamer Afr, ran afoul of the legal system for unpaid taxes and other debt accrued over the years. This prompted local businessmen Tom Freeman and Cook to put a plan into action, claiming the team and the arena for Elmira. Little did they know how much more work was in store. An ice plant, which was held together by metaphoric Band-Aids for years, is being replaced, a new cooling tower is being installed and plans for a restaurant and beer garden are in the works to keep foot traffic going through the arena when there aren’t any special events. In less than four months, the way of doing business at First Arena has changed. “The professionalism has been turned up a notch – they’re in here tackling the problems, not dodging the problems. That’s huge. They’re putting their own money into it,” said Robbie Nichols, who was brought back into the Jackals fold by new ownership to run the hockey end of the business. “They’re here every day working and in the trenches with us. When you see your leaders doing that, it’s just night and day from the old ownership group. (Cook and Freeman) care about Elmira, they own a lot of buildings around here and they really want to fix up downtown Elmira. Tom is really in Elmira, not an absentee owner, so that’s going to be huge.” And local businesses have taken notice. “What we’re seeing this year is not only an increase in season ticket purchases, but a significant community support from corporations and businesses in this area. People are coming to us and saying, ‘We want to do a three-year or five-year deal on a corporate suite because we’re committed to seeing this facility succeed,’” Cook said. “They want to invest their money into something that’s going to be here and run appropriately – they want it to be an exciting place they can take their employees and clients. That’s what we want it to be, too.” One way to ensure good business in hockey is winning, and the Jackals took a step toward that with Monday’s announcement that fan favorite defensemen Kyle Bushee and Jordan Southorn along with exciting forwards Artem Demkov and Rob Bellamy will be back in uniform for the 2013-14 season. Ownership also promised more player announcements in the coming weeks. Last season, that core helped lead Elmira to the second-best record in the division and a playoff berth, which ended in a first-round exit in six games against the Florida Everblades. That doesn’t sound impressive, but consider the team didn’t have a coach until September and the players fretted all season about getting paid. This year, Dwight Mullins is able to tweak an inherited squad and do his own recruiting, along with Nichols in the front office. “There was so much speculation as to whether there was going to be a hockey season or not, even right up to the day I got into town there was a ton of speculation. To have that all behind us, and behind this city, is a real positive,” Mullins said. “If it gets everybody excited and talking about hockey on the first of August, that’s a good thing.” First Arena, and local businesses, were at their best when the Jackals made deep playoff runs with tough, dynamic players. Sellouts were commonplace and the struggling city got a jolt of energy every weekend, and that was with absentee owners. “I want it to go back to the days when we were sold out all the time and if you didn’t get a ticket a day or two before, you couldn’t get into the game here,” said Nichols, who has been everything for the Jackals – rival, coach and GM. “I think for all that coming together, we need a winning product on the ice, too. We need to win. I think we’ll get back to the glory days.”